Chicken wraps with a Banting option

During his address, Professor Noakes made the wry observation that there is as little scientific evidence out there to prove a high carb low fat (HCLF) diet is healthy for you, as there is scientific evidence which proves his LCHF diet is dangerous or bad for you.

He also debunked the myth that his diet encourages excessive protein consumption.

It simply doesn’t, and I know this because of the discussion we had about my diet. His diet promotes low carbohydrate, moderate protein and high fat consumption.

On the issue of protein consumption, he notes that one ought to eat organic, free range or pasture fed animal protein, and not feedlot animal protein. Why? Because feedlot animal protein does not have the correct ratio of Omega 3 to Omega 6 fatty acids.

He pointed out that the reason the rest of the medical profession gets so hot under the collar, is because conventional wisdom is being challenged.

For example, the myth that eating foods high in cholesterol will raise your cholesterol has been scientifically disproven, as has the notion that a HCLF diet will result in dramatically lowered cholesterol.

In talking about the level of criticism he has attracted since publishing the Real Meal Revolution, and actively promoting the LCHF diet, he makes the following telling assertion: “Diabetes and obesity is the problem. Tim Noakes is not the problem.”

And if, like me, you enjoy a wrap now and then, and are Banting, the idea of a cauliflower tortilla wrap is singularly appealing, because it is a true low carb option, and although it takes a bit of effort to make, it is really tasty.

If you’re not Banting then all you need do is buy a pack of soft flour tortillas at your local supermarket, and voila.

Of course you can wrap the wrap around pretty much everything, and in this recipe, I’ve favoured crispy fried chicken strips, using crushed cornflakes rather than bread crumbs.

Ingredients, selection and preparation

(Tortilla wraps)

500g cauliflower: cut into florets

4tbsp psyllium husks: this is the replacement for the gluten in flour that gives dough its elasticity

2 eggs

1/4 tsp salt

coconut flour: for dusting your work surface, and for rolling out the wraps

(Crispy chicken strips)

2 cups (500ml) cornflakes: put them in a zip lock bag, and crush to a coarse powder with a rolling pin

2 eggs: beaten

1 cup cornflour

500g chicken breasts: cut into strips

1 tsp smoked paprika

1 tsp white pepper

1 tsp pimento allspice

1 tbsp sesame seeds

1 tsp salt

canola oil: for frying the chicken strips

200ml hummus

(Guacamole salsa)

1 large ripe avocado pear

1 tomato: deseeded and chopped

2 spring onions: finely sliced

20g chopped coriander

1 small red chilli: deseeded and finely chopped

Method

Make the wraps first. Stream or boil the cauliflower until it is mushy and drain thoroughly to remove as much moisture as possible.

Puree the cauliflower in a blender jug until it is smooth, and while still hot, add the psyllium husks, eggs, and salt, and blitz thoroughly to ensure the psyllium husk is evenly distributed in the dough. Set aside to stand for at least 15 minutes, to thicken the dough.

Divide the dough into six balls, then on a work surface well dusted with coconut flour, gently roll out one of the balls, dusting liberally with coconut flour, lifting and turning it regularly.

Don’t be in a hurry, because you’ll end up shredding the tortilla. You’ll notice that it isn’t easy to get a perfectly round tortilla, but that really doesn’t matter. As long as its thin enough. Repeat the process, with care, for the other five balls of dough.

I found that rolling each tortilla out on a plastic cutting mat worked best, because it was easy to slide it off into the pan to dry-fry it.

Heat a fry pan, and slide each tortilla carefully into the pan. Dry fry it until the underside is golden brown, before flipping it. Again, I found using a cutting mat to do so really helped.

Place a kitchen towel over the pan, flooded by a plastic cutting mat, and swiftly invert the pan.

Place a second cutting mat atop the tortilla, and invert the package. Remove the top cutting mat, and slide the tortilla into the pan, and cook the other side until golden brown. Set aside to cool.

Add the paprika, pepper, allspice, sesame seeds and salt to the cornflake crumbs and mix well. Place the cornflour, egg and cornflake crumbs in shallow bowls

Heat a couple of tbsp of canolaoil in a pan, then dip each chicken strip into the cornflour, then the egg, and finally roll it in the cornflake crumbs. Fry for a couple of minutes until golden brown and crispy. Set aside.

Make the salsa by mashing the avocado and stirring in the tomato, spring onion, coriander and chilli.

Assemble a tortilla by spooning a line of salsa down the centre, followed by two or three chicken strips.

Roll the tortilla up neatly, and glue it down with a spoon of hummus.

Preparation time: 45 minutes

Cooking time: 60 minutes

Yield: 6

Written by Norman McFarlane
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